The Last Waltz (1927)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The last waltz |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1927 |
| length | 109 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Arthur Robison |
| script |
Alice Miller Arthur Robison based on the operetta of the same name (1920) by Oscar Straus |
| production | Charles E. Whittaker for UFA and Paramount Studios |
| music | Werner Richard Heymann |
| camera |
Theodor Sparkuhl Joe Rive |
| occupation | |
| |
The Last Waltz is a German silent film -Operettenverfilmung, inspired by the same template of Oscar Straus , dating from 1927 under the direction of Arthur Robison played Willy Fritsch , Liane Haid and Suzy Vernon the lead roles.
action
Prince Alexis, heir to the throne of an unspecified Balkan state , receives an order from his mother, sent by the court marshal, to return to the castle immediately. There he should get to know the bride chosen for him, Princess Elena, before the engagement of the two is announced. Elena and her best friend, Countess Vera, want to have some fun and swap roles. When the prince's adjutant, Dimitri Sarrasov, appears to announce the arrival of Alexis, Vera is presented to him as Princess Elena.
The joke threatens to take a dangerous turn when Alexis falls head over heels in love with his alleged bride Elena, in truth: Vera. During a sleigh ride, the two suffer an accident and are accommodated in an inn that has often been used for the prince's wild rendezvous. Vera, harassed by the intrusive Alexis, stiffly claims out of fear that she is actually Vera and not Elena, but the pretender does not believe her a word. The real Elena has meanwhile sent Dimitri to look for her out of concern for her friend. The adjutant arrives at the inn, but does not dare to enter his master’s room. Vera can barely help Alexis' intrusiveness when she pulls open the door and escapes straight into Dimitri's arms. When Dimitri then pulls out the saber - after all, a lady is in need - it amounts to a monstrous affront to the heir to the throne. He has his adjutant arrested, brought to court martial and sentenced to death.
The night before the execution, a court ball is held in the palace in honor of the marriage of Alexis and Elena. Vera is also present. She learns that Dimitri, who is saving her, is waiting in his cell for his execution the next day and asks the heir to the throne to grant the condemned one last favor, as is customary. Dimitri Sarrasow asks to be allowed to dance one last waltz with Vera. He gives his word that he will then return to his cell without resisting, and he keeps it. Vera doesn't want to see his life wasted so senselessly and has already forged an escape plan.
Elena is irritated when she learns of the circumstances of the death sentence. From what she said, her future husband must assume that she considers him, Alexis, a coward because he hadn't dared the saber duel with his adjutant at the inn. Alexis does not want to let that sit on her and wants to catch up on the unusual duel. You choose the pistol as your weapon. Suddenly Dimitri pulls out a golden cigarette case that Alexis had once given him as a thank you for saving him from an assassin. Alexis shoots anyway ... and only hits the hand of a clock.
Now the queen steps in and puts an end to all the madness. She pardons Dimitri Sarrasow and finally enables the gentleman of the old school to lead his Vera to the altar.
Production notes
The last waltz was the first joint production by UFA and Paramount and was made from January to March 1927. The six-act film with a length of 2722 meters was banned from young people and had its world premiere on August 19, 1927 in the Ufa-Palast am Zoo .
Walter Reimann designed the buildings that Hans Minzloff carried out.
Reviews
“In an extremely skilful way, which shows the fine artistic understanding of the director Robison, the plot of the film is set for drama, in which the most impressive climaxes are worked out, while nevertheless a lovingly amusing trait goes through the whole thing, which sometimes takes on parodic form and, especially at the end, turns into delicious humor. What is particularly remarkable about Robison's direction is that he knew how to bring out psychological moments in the most effective and subtle way, how he tackled the entire development of the film from the psychological side and thereby achieved unsurpassable moods that resulted in an overall picture of unusual charm. (...) Like Artur Robisons' direction, the presentation under the artistic influence of the director does justice to its task in the most appreciable way. Every single role is, what deserves to be noted in a special way, individually filled first class. "
Vienna's Neue Freie Presse reported on November 26, 1927: "In a few words, that is the meaning and plot of this picture game, and both must be recognized as being well done. More, much more praise than what is due to the how, the loving, Mise-en-scène indulging in magnificent pictures, nature shots, interior and mood studies and a subtle direction that brings out the most charming effects from apparently unimportant details. The cast is also excellent, lavishly showing great skill even on small posts. "
Web links
- The Last Waltz in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The last waltz at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ "The Last Waltz". In: Neue Freie Presse , November 26, 1927, p. 11 (online at ANNO ).